Walter A. Haas Jr. (January 24, 1916 – September 20, 1995) was an American businessman. He was the president (1958-1970), CEO (1958–1976) and chairman (1970–1981) of

Levi Strauss & Co Levi Strauss & Co. ( ) is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's ( ) brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when History of the Jews in Germany, German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, ...

, succeeding his father Walter A. Haas (1889–1979). He led the company in its growth from a regional manufacturer to one of the world’s leading apparel companies. In 1953, together with his wife, Evelyn, he founded the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, a private family foundation based in San Francisco, California. Haas was honored with a " retired number" by the Athletics for his contributions.

Early life and education

Haas was born to a Jewish family in San Francisco, the son of Elise (née Stern) and Walter A. Haas. His mother was the daughter of Sigmund Stern (the nephew of Levi StraussUniversity of California Berkeley website: About Walter Haas
retrieved March 27, 2013 and the son of

David Stern David Joel Stern (September 22, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American lawyer and business executive who was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2014. Stern oversaw NBA basketball's growth into one of t ...

); and Rosalie (née Meyer) Stern (the daughter of Harriet Newmark Meyer and Marc Eugene Meyer; and the granddaughter of rabbi Joseph Newmark). Haas graduated from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in 1937 where he was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity. His father was a prominent supporter of the university; the

Haas School of Business The Walter A. Haas School of Business (branded as Berkeley Haas) is the business school of the University of California, Berkeley, a Public university, public research university in Berkeley, California. It was the first business school at a pub ...

was named in his honor. Haas attended the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

and earned an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

in 1939.

Oakland Athletics

Haas was the owner of the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

baseball club, acquiring the team from Charles O. Finley in August

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

for less than $13 million. The acquisition was to prevent the team from moving, as Finley had wanted to sell to industrialist

Marvin Davis Marvin H. Davis (August 31, 1925 – September 25, 2004) was an American industrialist. He made his fortunes as the chair of Davis Petroleum and at one time owned 20th Century Fox, the Pebble Beach Corporation, the Beverly Hills Hotel, and the ...

, who planned to move the team to

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. Under Haas' ownership, the Athletics won five

American League West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams cu ...

Division titles (the first in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

and the last in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, advancing to three consecutive

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

between 1988 and

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, defeating the cross-bay rival

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

in a sweep marred only by the infamous

Loma Prieta earthquake On October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. PST, the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred at the Central Coast of California. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz County, approximately 10 mi (16 km) ...

). Haas would accept the Commissioner's Trophy on behalf of himself, the players, and Tony LaRussa, who won his first world championship. On the date of his death, the organization memorialized Haas with a retirement of his "jersey" due to his services for the organization and the city of

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

. It remains placed with the jerseys of retired player numbers at the Athletics' current home field.

Philanthropy

Haas sought to strengthen Levi Strauss & Co.’s position as a

socially responsible Social responsibility is an ethics, ethical concept in which a person works and cooperates with other people and organizations for the benefit of the community. An organization can demonstrate social responsibility in several ways, for instanc ...

international corporation. During the 1950s, Haas, along with his brother, Peter E. Haas, oversaw

racial integration Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation), leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of Race (classification of human beings), race, and t ...

of the company’s plants. He also led the creation of Community Involvement Teams for Levi Strauss & Co. employees. Haas served on the boards of the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

and the National Park Foundation while leading Levi Strauss & Co. He was also involved in other nonprofit institutions such as the Hunter’s Point Boys’ Club and the San Francisco Chronicle’s Season of Sharing Fund. Together with his wife, Haas established the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund in 1953 as a private family foundation. As its

mission statement A mission statement is a short statement of why an organization exists, what its overall goal is, the goal of its operations: what kind of product or service it provides, its primary customers or market, and its geographical region of operation ...

describes, the Fund “seeks to fulfill (its) founders’ vision of a just and caring society that provides fundamental rights and opportunities so that all people can live, work and raise their families with dignity.” Of his family’s philanthropy, Haas used to say, "It's in the genes."

Personal life

In 1940, Haas married Evelyn Danzig Haas; they had three children: Robert D. Haas, former chairman and CEO of Levi Strauss & Co.; philanthropist Betsy Haas Eisenhardt who is married to Roy Eisenhardt; and Walter J. Haas, co-chairman of the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund and former chairman and CEO of the

.San Francisco Gate: "Philanthropist, arts patron Evelyn Haas dies" by Michael Cabanatuan
February 4, 2010 Haas died at age 79 from

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

at his San Francisco residence. Funeral services were held at Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco.

Awards and honors

*1979 – Alumni Achievement Award, Harvard *1983 – Alumnus of the Year, University of California *1983 – Honorary Degree, Wheaton College *1984 – Presidential Voluntary Action Award *1989 – Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...

*2019 –

Athletics Hall of Fame The Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in West Sacramento, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. The ...

Notes

References

External links

Business Wire "OBIT/Longtime Levi Strauss & Co. leader Walter A. Haas Jr. dies"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haas, Walter A. Jr. 1916 births 1995 deaths American chief executives of fashion industry companies American people of German-Jewish descent American philanthropists Oakland Athletics owners Harvard Business School alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni Businesspeople from San Francisco Haas family Levi Strauss & Co. people Newmark family Koshland family Jewish American sports executives and administrators Jews from California